Project Summary

PAs are emerging as new core public service professionals across a range of services, from welfare to lifelong learning, whether they work in the public, private or voluntary sector. ippr's work is leading the way in developing ideas around this.

The first stage of the project is currently being carried out. This stage is reviewing the existing literature on the effectiveness of PAs and considering the current composition, skills set and roles of PAs, and how these might need to evolve in the future. The research is being informed by interviews with PAs and other professionals across sectors as well as service users. A report based on the findings of phase one of the project is due to be published in March 2009. The project’s funding partners for the first stage are the Shaw Trust, LSC, Pinnacle and Ufi.

The next stage of the project, to which this note is referring, will work with different delivery partners to test and evaluate principles developed during stage one. The partners will each be focusing on a particular aspect around the role of the PA, such as: the professionalisation of the PA role; career progression and skills; re-thinking the customer journey; worklessness; the integration of services; the use of mentors; and the PAs role with newly redundant workers.

The innovation hub
ippr will provide an innovation or ‘best-practice’ hub to run alongside the delivery projects. It will run from February 2009 to July 2010. The hub will thus become a rich source of practice-based learning and experience with which to test different approaches and examine whether further structural reform is needed.

The hub will:
•    Co-ordinate the partnership initiatives;
•    Gather together evidence from the pilot projects on the scale, nature and skills set of the PA profession;
•    Draw together learning and best practice from partners and facilitate a process where partners are able to build on their own experience and expertise and push new boundaries in delivery;
•    Provide access to cross-sectoral and international knowledge, contacts and political networks;
•    Engage with key stakeholders to share findings and facilitate learning sessions with other providers; 
•    Co-ordinate an independent evaluation of the recommendations that partners have implemented; 
•    Function as a critical friend for all delivery partners;
•    Provide tailored support responding to pilot project.

 
Outputs from the hub will include:
•    An interim report focused on emerging findings / lessons of the hub by December 2009;
•    Quarterly seminars with project partners bringing in best practice from a range of sectors, international examples and learning from the other partner projects;
•    A final report by July 2010 alongside a project output co-designed with partners – for example an interactive tool-kit for PAs and providers; 
•    Each partner organisation will receive a report based on their specific project. The scope and timing will depend on the nature of the project (details below). 

Outcomes from the hub will include:
•    The hub will continue after the end of the project life as a forum for ongoing learning and innovation and as way to access mentors for both PAs and users;
•    Personal Advisers will have better understanding about enterprise, knowledge on what support is available for customers and where.
•    A better understanding of what different customer journey’s look like and how the system can respond better to this diversity;
•    Knowledge of the extent to which different targets lead to different outcomes;
•    Better awareness of what makes a citizen-focused service' – what works and what doesn’t – how to facilitate sustainable employment outcomes, improved well-being, access to services and housing.
•    A clear understanding of the relationship between skills, benefit and work
•    Using the innovation hub, the relationship with Brent and our other partners, we will improve the service for users and influence debate and future policy development around work, skills, education, enterprise, housing and well-being.

Tailored support for Stockwell Community Resource Centre

Stockwell Community Resource Centre (SCRC) will receive tailored support responding to pilot project, comparing data collected during phase 1 with findings from delivery.

Working in the community – examining the role of community champions
SCRC are part of GLOBE - Greenwich and Lambeth Outreach Based Engagement which delivers outreach to engage social housing tenants in Greenwich, Lambeth and Bexley by addressing barriers to work, and providing access to the range of employment and training. GLOBE is LDA funded, managed by part of the Hyde Group and employs an IAG worker employed by SCRC. An initial cohort of trainee champions will be recruited through the Globe project. These trainees include local residents.

SCRC's worker will support the Stockwell champions who will be asked to use their own networks, formal and informal, to recruit further beneficiaries of GLOBE. GLOBE will be the central point but in many instances when champions recruit non-Hyde residents they will be signposted to other agencies with whom SCRC has already been working - a Prospect worker is based at the centre twice a week and SCRC has long established partnerships with the South Bank Employers' Group' Waterloo Job Shop and Tomorrow's GAIN brokerage service. Both GLOBE and Prospect work closely with Stockwell Jobcentre Plus.

ippr will focus on examining the following key dimensions for community champions:
•    The effectiveness of the champions, how their work links to progression routes, and their perspective of the customer’s journey;
•    The champion’s skills sets and the necessary balance between qualifications and soft skills for providing effective advice and navigation services;
•    Career progression routes for the Champions;
•    The ease/difficulty of access for customers and their relationship with the Champions;
•    How the champions connect with local providers, the Jobcentre Plus and other referral agencies.


Methodology
At all points of the project we will work to ensure that we are gathering insight from all key groups involved. The methodology has been divided into four stages. Some of the stages overlap so that there is constant feedback and learning throughout. 

Stage 1: Objective: to design an outcomes methodology
•    This first stage is focused on designing an outcomes methodology. This will be done in partnership, ensuring that the methodological framework responds to the requirements of the project team and the pilot partners.
•    Key milestones will be agreed with SCRC

Stage 2: Objective: to provide a useful baseline measure against which progress / outcomes can be measured / evaluated
•    This stage would be undertaken once the champions are in place to ensure that a robust baseline is developed against which progress / outcomes can be measured and evaluated.
•    ippr will carry out 2 interviews with champions
•    ippr’s project team will visit the project and carry out a focus group with customers taking part in the pilot, and one with partner organisations or referral partners

Stage 3: Objective: to evaluate progress throughout the life-cycle of the pilots
•    The champions will be prompted to make a diary entry on 2 different occasions throughout the project lifespan. It will be designed so that it is sensitive towards generating outcomes related to project whilst also providing measures that can be used as comparisons across pilot projects.
-    The diary will include a component that remains constant – the same questions would be asked each time so that progress can be tracked. Each diary wave would then include a themed dimension where a specific topic theme will be chosen and explored in more detail

Stage 4: Objective: bring out key issues in a presentation
•    We would bring out any key issues that need to be addressed in a presentation to SCRC, and any of your partners you would like to be present. The final presentation will made in June 2010.

Timetable